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At my local (kosher, Ashkenazi) butcher, one of the cuts of beef they sell is kulkie, or kolichel/kalichl. It's a tough, lean cut with copious connective tissue which is great for stewing. However, I haven't the faintest what it is, which presents a problem if I'm going to a Sephardi, or non-Jewish kosher butcher, who wouldn't likely be familiar with the term.

Which part of the cow is the "kulkie"?

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  • Have you asked the butcher? He probably has a chart he can show you.
    – John Feltz
    Dec 21, 2016 at 21:48
  • @JohnFeltz, I will if I go there soon, although it's possible that he wouldn't know either.
    – NoahM
    Dec 21, 2016 at 21:51

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My understanding of Kosher is limited, but from what little I know it's limited to the front half of the cow, although how that differs between the two branches I couldn't tell you. The picture of the cut you sent looks a lot like beef leg, so it would be foreleg, although it could be from the shoulder/neck area as well.

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  • You're correct: in the United States, it would likely be the shin meat and referred to as the foreshank, or from the hind leg and called the hindshank.
    – Giorgio
    Dec 21, 2016 at 22:31
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    Many kosher butchers are now capable of removing the sciatic nerve and fats which make the back half of the animal non-kosher. As such, assuming that all kosher meat comes from the front half is no longer a safe move.
    – NoahM
    Dec 22, 2016 at 16:05
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It looks a lot like the mock tender: enter image description here

That's the teres major muscle, from the shoulder. In a different butchering, it would be part of the chuck. Despite the tenderloin-esque shape, it's rather tougher and benefits from stewing. (It's sometimes sliced to make steaks, but while the tenderloin yields filet mignons, this is considerably chewier.)

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  • Is there another common term for the teres major?
    – NoahM
    Dec 21, 2016 at 22:35
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    Culinarily, I see it listed as the "chuck tender" or "shoulder tender" and names like that.
    – Joshua Engel
    Dec 22, 2016 at 15:55
  • Anatomically, it's one of the numerous muscles involved in rotating the shoulder, just below the shoulder cuff. (The teres minor is part of the shoulder cuff.) I don't think it has a common name; there are a LOT of muscles in there.
    – Joshua Engel
    Dec 22, 2016 at 15:57
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Google searching various ways, this is what I found on Kosher Eye:

Kalichel: this refers to the animal’s leg meat and is usually sold boned. It is always very tender. It’s sometimes cut crosswise with the bone in and is excellent for hearty soups

So, it seems that @GdD is correct that it comes from the front half of the cow and is leg meat.

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  • The pieces I had were not very tender, it seemed to follow more along Joshua's definition
    – NoahM
    Dec 21, 2016 at 22:35
  • I questioned that but, in light of the fact that the source says it excellent for hearty soups, it seems to be suitable for long cooking. Also, from the picture, it looks more like shin meat than shoulder meat.
    – Cindy
    Dec 21, 2016 at 22:44
  • if it had ever had a bone, I would have mentioned it in the OP. I guess it's possible, but I assume that I would be able to tell if it were boned.
    – NoahM
    Dec 21, 2016 at 22:46
  • Well, it only says that sometimes it has a bone.
    – Cindy
    Dec 21, 2016 at 22:47
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    Possible. I'm not an expert on kosher. Just posted what little I was able to find.
    – Cindy
    Dec 21, 2016 at 23:20

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